The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0731 GMT - Westports Holdings could remain largely insulated from the Middle East conflict, supported by its focus on intra-Asia trade, RHB IB analyst John Liew says in a note. Direct exposure is limited, with only 5% of container volumes tied to the Middle East, while diversions from Strait of Hormuz disruptions may benefit throughput, he says. However, higher fuel costs could weigh on earnings, with every 10% increase in fuel cost potentially reducing 2026 earnings estimates by about 1%, he reckons. Freight rates could also be more volatile with shipping carriers expected to shelve their plans to return selected east-west services to Suez Canal transits, he adds. RHB maintains a buy rating on Westports and keeps target price at 6.89 ringgit. Shares are 0.8% higher at 5.98 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0641 GMT - The shock to the global economy from the Middle East hostilities will likely last longer than originally expected, Erste Group analysts say in a note. At the same time, however, it is not yet too late to keep the economic consequences in check, they say. "For us, this means relatively short-term impacts on inflation and growth, which is what we currently anticipate," they say. U.S. President Trump is interested in neither a prolonged war nor consistently high oil and fuel prices, while Iran needs the revenue from oil and gas sales and won't want to jeopardize its current oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the analysts say. "We therefore expect shipping through the strait to normalize in the coming weeks." (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
0337 GMT - New Zealand's central bank will revisit its inflation forecasts in its April meeting to reflect the impact of the Middle East conflict, chief economist Paul Conway says in a speech. "Conflict in the Middle East has added yet another layer of disruption--pushing up global energy and shipping costs--with potential macroeconomic impacts here at home," he says. New Zealand's inflation stood at 3.1% in 2025, above the central bank's target range of 1%-3% and up from 2.2% in 2024. The economist calls for structural reforms, noting "monetary policy can anchor inflation but cannot fix affordability alone--productivity is key." RBNZ's next policy meeting will take place on April 8. (jihye.lee@wsj.com)
0307 GMT - Grab could face stiffer competition in Taiwan compared with its other markets due to Uber Eats' current market share, says Kai Wang, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, in a note. Grab recently agreed to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan, expanding its footprint in Asia. Grab's success so far in other markets has been dependent on being the "first mover" and having more resources than its rivals, Wang says. Still, Foodpanda Taiwan could add about 13% to Grab's delivery business, according to Morningstar's estimates. Morningstar keeps its fair value estimate for Grab unchanged at $6.50 as it only expects Taiwan to contribute to Ebitda in 2028, but shares still look undervalued, Wang says. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
0301 GMT - Hesai Group has potential to be re-rated if its upcoming products can deliver genuine breakthroughs, Bernstein analysts write in a note. The company plans to introduce two products in the coming months for robotics and autonomous systems, including an "eye" to enhance perception beyond what is currently possible, and "muscles" that can deliver precise and powerful motion control. Hesai deserves some credit for its innovation capabilities, given its strong technological intuition, the analysts say. The company's founders also founded an independent startup called Sharpa, which has demonstrated impressive progress in robotic dexterous hands, they note. Bernstein maintains an outperform rating on the stock but cuts its ADR target price to $32.00 from $33.00 to reflect an expected growth slowdown for the coming quarters. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
0252 GMT - Higher oil prices could accelerate underlying inflation in Japan, but market expectations for interest-rate hikes are unlikely to rise significantly, says SMBC Nikko Securities strategist Miki Den. "Even if the current surge in crude oil prices contributes to a rise in underlying inflation, the market likely views the possibility of high-paced rate hikes as low, given the BOJ's limited experience with tightening cycles," Den says. Even with a buildup of hawkish catalysts, there is limited room for market pricing to shift much further beyond current levels--which stand at roughly 2.5 hikes over the next year and four hikes over the subsequent two, the strategist says. (megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com)
1527 GMT - The oil market can't be considered to have stabilized until there is clear and sustained evidence that flows through the Strait of Hormuz have normalized, Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities says in a note. Oil markets are increasingly difficult to trade while geopolitical headlines rather than fundamentals drive price moves, he says. "What is being presented as de-escalation may not represent a genuine shift." While crude prices have remained relatively contained, diesel and jet fuel markets continue to show significant tightness. "This divergence highlights a deeper issue: the physical supply crunch has not been resolved." WTI and Brent are up 3.6% and 2.8%, respectively. Nymex diesel is up 5.9%, trading at its highest level since October 2022. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1513 GMT - The collaboration between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla doesn't just represent plans to build the biggest semiconductor fab in history in Austin, Texas. It also lays the groundwork for Musk to further roll up his technology empire following the merger of SpaceX and xAI last month, according to Wedbush. The planned Terafab "will accelerate the company's ambitious AI path which we believe will set the foundation for TSLA to become an AI powerhouse over the coming years with chip and memory supply expected to be the greatest constraint," Wedbush's analysts, led by Dan Ives, write ina note. "We also believe this is the first step to ultimately what will be Tesla and SpaceX combining forces in a merger likely in 2027." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1042 GMT - The Persian Gulf war is now in week four, disrupting operations in the Strait of Hormuz and at Middle East airports, impacting 2%-3% of global sea freight volumes and around 15% of air freight capacity, J.P.Morgan analysts write. Oil prices have increased materially and the bank expects higher freight rates to offset increased costs. However, ultimately the success in recovering higher costs depends on supply-demand fundamentals. The earnings impact for container shipping is balanced and the recent sector outperformance is difficult to justify, J.P.Morgan says. In contrast, air cargo capacity has tightened and strong air freight rates should support yields for forwarders. It reiterates its underweight ratings on Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, ZIM and Kuehne+Nagel stocks and its overweight stance on DSV and DHL. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0948 GMT - (Dow Jones) Continental shares are oversold and newsflow suggesting that the sale of its ContiTech business is progressing at a reasonable valuation range is positive, Citi analysts write. Bloomberg reported that the ContiTech business is potentially being valued at between 3.5 billion and 4 billion euros, which is below Citi's valuation of 4.6 billion euros. However, a sale at the mid-point would still leave the remaining Continental business trading at a valuation below key peers Michelin and Pirelli, offering compelling upside. The bank thinks recent share price weakness in Continental had effectively discounted any such sale even happening on account of recent uncertainty in raw material prices and availability, rates and valuations. Citi rates Continental at buy with a 78 euro target price. Shares fall 1.1% to 59.10 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 25, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments